Thursday, December 1, 2011

The Moon Shines on the Moonshine

Preparations for our move continue. As I go through cabinets and drawers deciding what to take and what to jettison, I stumble upon across occasional little gems. I broke out into a smile when I found nearly hundred year old sheet music for The Moon Shines on the Moonshine.

Published in 1920, the song was already a popular tune as sung by Vaudeville comedian Bert Williams — an African-American who, in one of the bizzare twists of minstrelsy, regularly performed in blackface. He wasn’t the only one. But he was the only one WC Fields is said to have called “the funniest man I ever saw.”

Lyrics by Francis de Witt — just slightly different from the recording — follow.

The Moon Shines on the Moonshine

The mahogany is dusty,All the pipes are very rusty,And the good, old-fashioned mustyDoesn't musty anymore.

All the stuff's got bum and bummer,from the middle of the Summer.Now the bar is on the hummer,and "For Rent" is on the door.

How sad and still tonight,by the old distillery,And how the cob-webs cob,in the old machinery!

But in the mountain tops,far from the eyes of cops,Oh how the moon shines onthe moonshine, so merrily!How sad and merrily!

Goodness me, how misery doubles,Ain't one thing to use for bubbles,For to drive away your troubles,Now the tide has gone and went.

Days and nights are getting bleaker,shivering for an old-time sneaker,Even water's getting weaker,'Bout one tenth of one per cent.

How sad and still tonight,by the old distillery,And how the mourners mourn,Bt the Lager Brewery!

So, mister, if you please,Don't let nobody sneeze,Up where the moon shinesOn the moonshine, so still-ilyHow sad and still-ily!

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Rowley Who?

I'm a contributor to Whisky Advocate, contributing editor for Distiller magazine, a former board member of the Southern Foodways Alliance, and an erstwhile museum curator. After a life of living in bitterly cold and unspeakably hot places, I'm lucky enough to be working my tail off in southern California. Can't beat that with a stick.

Email me: moonshinearchives (at) gmail (dot) com

My day job is freelance writing for business, government, and academic clients. When I’m not helping others get their stories out, I’m eating and drinking, planning to eat and drink, or, relying on my training as an anthropologist and museum curator to reflect on what I’ve eaten and drunk. I travel whenever I can, visiting distillers, artisan food producers, secondhand bookstores, and farmers’ markets. Sometimes I manage to write about it here.